So I take the car down this morning after class to get the radiator flushed. I get home and about 45 min later i get a call saying that they broke the thermostat housing bolt not only do i have to pay the 115 dollars to get the rad. flushed but i have to pay an extra 250 dollars to get the bolt removed. The worst part about it is that they said it would take 2 hours. BULL, it will probably take them about half an hour to fix it. Is this commin to happen to older 300d's mine is a 81'. even worse is that I could fix it but i have no time.

Times like this it pays to have done it yourself.

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

***** happens when you deal with old cars. It's not their fault it broke. Complaining that they said it would take two hours and then an unforeseen accident extends that time is a waste of your time.

If they broke it and then charged you to fix it without notifying you first, that would be something to complain about.

I know it's not how the world works... but IMHO if they broke it then the "repair our mistake" part of the job is on their time and their cash, not yours.

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

In reality, no one would be willing to work on 25 year old cars under those conditions. Stuff breaks, old stuff breaks more often.

With a new car under warranty, maybe. But on a 22+ year old car with xxx,xxxmiles, no way.

Guess it depends on if it just snapped because it was 22 years old, or if they were monkey wrenching it. Neither extreme is very practical, I suppose.

Still.. paying people to break things I could have broken myself...

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

I know but working on a car 25 years + don't you think that they should have used some sort of liquid wrench or something to loosen the bolts. Plus if they got the second one off because they said that they were going to use wd40 doesn't that mean that they most likely were able to remove the first one if they used that.

Usually no amount of penetrating oil will make it very far behind the head. Water pump bolts rust where the pump mounts to the block. These are especially problematic on all cars.

It's not their fault. It's not your fault either, but it's your car. Sorry to say, but it's also your liability.

tangofox, hardly xray worthy, the point was that a knowlegable mechanic would have the experience to know that bolts around that suspect area are suseptible to elements that cause higher risk of breakage.
When my mechanic replaced my thermostat, he warned me that this area has to be carefully negotiated in order to avoid bolt breakage. Then, afterward he lightly coated the bolt thread with lubricant in order to avoid future problems.

So, if this 'radiator' specialist did not vocalise a heads up, it MAY follow that they had no concern about muscling off bolts, devil may care.

The latter is purely speculative.

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

I bet this thread is really twisting off those folks who wrench for a living.
I'm surprised somebody hasn't twisted off yet.....

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

It could be that, at $250 per occurence, they break as many bolts as possible. Repairing broken bolts would seem to be a lot more profitable than flushing radiators!!! Maybe it's just a little underhanded "upselling."

That is purely speculative, of course.

You don't know if they made a mistake, and don't have proof even if you think they did, so I think this is a case where you just have to take the hit. Stuff breaks on old cars, even when you're doing it right, and more often when you're hurrying to get 10 other customers' cars done so they don't have to walk home tonight. Unless they're trying to drum up business, the extra work your car will take to have it done tonight is no picnic for them either .

__________________
'83 300DTurbo http://badges.fuelly.com/images/smallsig-us/318559.png

Broadband: more lies faster.

I have been watching this thread grow, and the sentiment that the owner has to pay for stuff that just breaks on old cars leaves me wondering where it ends. I mean what if they broke an unrelated part in getting to the part they were hired to fix? This is exactly why I started changing my own oil years ago. Jiffy Lube rounding out my metric oil drain plug with english sockets. Or worse - forgetting the gasket in my aunt's car - yup new engine time, and the oil shack claims no responsibility.

This is certainly a grey area, but if a shop won't repair minor damage they cause I am not sure I would go back.

__________________

Current Mercedes
1979 maple yellow 240D 4-speed

Gone and fondly remembered:
1980 orient red 240D 4-speed

Gone and NOT fondly remembered:
1982 Chna Blue 300TD

Other car in the stable:
2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI / 6-speed MT

Don't mean to be too critical but, is there a specific number of things or amount of money a repair man is allowed to break and charge to the customer before the customer wakes up and smells the coffee. Is it one bolt and 2 studs. Is it 1 stud and 2 bolts. Is it $75.00 or is $150.00 the limit. There must be a limit to the amount of money a customer will pay a repair man for things they broke while doing a job. Honestly, for me the number is zero.

__________________
1981 240d
Newport,RI